Brentford’s Youth Team secured a sixth win in seven league games on Saturday with another performance that left manager Jon De Souza very pleased.
The Bees scored twice in five first-half minutes through Bradley Clayton and Herson Rodrigues Alves but conceded just before the break when Ebere Eze slammed home an unstoppable free-kick.
Jon’s side had to wait until the last ten minutes to make the game safe as Clayton grabbed his second, and 14th of the season, from close range.
The win, coupled with results elsewhere mean the Youth Team are now ten points clear at the top of the Under-18 Professional Development League Two South.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Jon felt that the performance didn’t quite match the levels shown in last Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace but that it was still a very good all-round performance.
“I though the performance was good overall but we didn’t quite reach the levels that we have seen recently,” said Jon.
“The first-half was fairly even.
“We looked quite bright going forward but we didn’t dominate the game as we have done in previous weeks.
“I thought for the first 25 minutes of the second-half we were very good.
“We dominated the game and created chances but they got back into it before the end.
“We didn’t kill the game off.
“I think the game took a long time to settle down and I’m not really sure it ever did settle down.
“We probably didn’t deserve the 2-0 lead although we probably just edged it in terms of possession and chances.
“2-0 flattered us and they quite rightly got their goal before half-time.
“I said to the players that we needed to be better second-half.
“It was by no means poor but we could have been better.
“We started the second-half with some good play and dominated the first 20-25 minutes.”
Millwall set-up a rarely seen 3-5-2 formation on Saturday morning with two wing-backs, two sitting midfielders and one attacking midfielder.
The Lions formation made it difficult for The Bees at times but it did also allow them to overload the back three with Rodrigues Alves, Joshua Bohui and Jeremiah Kamanzi getting in support of Clayton.
Jon felt that coming up against a fairly uncommon formation was a good challenge for the boys and one that he felt they could have exploited better.
“We tried to prepare the boys as best as possible for their shape but not many teams play 3-5-2,” said Jon.
“It posed the boys problems in terms of their defensive responsibilities and how to press.
“I think their shape could have suited us more but it did allow us to exploit some of the spaces in wide areas.
“However it didn’t allow us to press as well as I would have liked.”
One thing that Millwall’s formation did allow Brentford to do was retain possession.
With The Lions seeing very little of the ball for large stages it was hard for them to fashion any real chances of note.
Aside from the goal and one other first-half save Nik Tzanev in the Brentford goal was largely untroubled and that was a real positive for Jon.
“Nik made a good save in the first-half just before our second goal,” said Jon.
“He couldn’t have done anything with the goal but second-half in particular we limited them to very few chances.
“The good thing is that we limited them by keeping the ball.
“If we have the football then the opposition can’t score.”
Next up for The Bees is a home game against Cardiff City on Saturday with a win making it impossible for the Welsh side to catch Brentford at the top of the Under-18 Professional Development League Two South.
Jon is looking forward to the test that Cardiff will pose and is expecting another competitive week in training as the players battle for a spot in the starting XI.
The Youth Team manager said there is good competition for places in the Youth Team and boys not regularly in the starting XI are putting their hands up for a starting spot both in training and when they get a chance to play.
“It is always tough if you aren’t playing but those boys are training quite well,” said Jon.
“It is down to the players in the XI to work hard and keep their place.
“If the boys are training hard and working third then they should get the opportunity to play and if they get that opportunity and do well then they should stay in the team.
“That is how it should be and that is what first-teams are like.
“If you look at the size of our first team that players have to earn the right to play.
“They are a good group in general.
“I think the results help them during the week because they have got things to talk about and be happy about.
“They are a good group and we are happy with how they are doing.
“Cardiff at home will be a big test like every game is a test.
“Hopefully the players can play how they have done in the last couple of weeks.”